1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sheet-guiding system including a transporting device carrying a gripper device for gripping a leading edge of a sheet freshly printed on at least one side thereof and guiding the sheet along an imaginary guide path in a sheet travel direction extending perpendicularly to the leading edge of the sheet, a member having a sheet guide surface spaced from the guide path, and a plurality of air blast nozzles disposed in the member and having respective nozzle openings disposed in the sheet guide surface for emitting an air flow onto a sheet surface facing towards the sheet guide surface.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97-1.99
A guiding system of the foregoing general type has become known heretofore, for example, from the Japanese Patent JP 3-7149 U. Disclosed therein is a chain delivery of a sheet-fed rotary printing press wherein a leading edge of a printed sheet is temporarily clamped in a gripper device which is linked to a respective endless chains of a pair thereof revolving in parallel paths, so that the leading edge of the sheet brushes against or grazes an imaginary guide surface in a sheet transport direction extending perpendicularly to the leading edge of the sheet. At a respective distance from locations on the guide surface, a sheet guide surface in the form of a surface of a guide plate is provided. A respective sheet, traveling on a path thereof defined by the gripper device, is subjected to an air flow between the sheet and the sheet guide surface. This air flow is produced by individual jets of air emerging from the sheet guide surface. Guidance of a freshly printed sheet in a delivery of a sheet-fed printing press is thereby assisted or aided by the air flow, in order to achieve a sheet transport which is as steady or undisturbed as possible. In spite of this provision, however, smearing of the yet wet ink, particularly in a first-form and perfector or recto/verso printing operation, cannot be avoided entirely with this heretofore known guiding system. A reason therefor particularly is the whip-like movements of the non-forcibly guided trailing edge of the sheet.